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Synopsis
City of Dreadful Night is an astonishing work of fiction, a tangle of tales that transports the reader from the Medieval India of magicians, witches, and vampires, through the British colonial period with its culture clashes and simmering unrest, into the chaos and political terror of contemporary India. Flesh-eating demons, Rajiv Gandhi's assassin, even Bram Stoker and Dracula populate the serpentine narrative, which intermingles stories about the characters with the terrifying tales they tell. At the heart of the book is an itinerant teller of ghost tales called Brahm Kathuwala, an old man wearing amulets around his neck and a silk top hat with peacock plumes. As Siegel follows him all over north India, Brahm's life story is revealed through countless interlocking tales. We learn of his two mothers - one the destitute floor sweeper who bore him; the other a wealthy Irish woman who read and reread to him the story of Dracula. We hear of his marriage to the daughter of a cremation ground attendant and his battles against her demonic possession. We come to understand the strange life of this man who uses terrifying tales to ward off the evil he himself fears.
Is City of Dreadful Night appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
This literary fantasy contains supernatural horror elements including demonic possession, flesh-eating demons, and political violence set against the backdrop of colonial and contemporary India. Complex narrative structure and mature themes require older teen/adult readers.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include death, possession, and demonic possession (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Readers fascinated by folktales, ghost stories, and the rich supernatural traditions of India will be drawn into this interwoven collection of tales.